Apparatus which are commonly employed to contain or transfer fluids under pressure, such as polymer distributor sections of spunbonded spinpacks or melt blown die bodies, frequently join component parts with seals interposed between mating or mounting surfaces to obviate seepage of fluid under high pressure from between the mounting surfaces. The washers or gaskets used as sealing members are generally of a flat configuration arranged with the widest planar surface of the seal in contact with each adjacent mounting surface of the component parts. The sealing member is generally formed from a metal, either the same or a different metal than that used in the component parts.
In apparatus employing such metal-to-metal surface contact seals, throughput rates are severely limited by the maximum pressure which may be employed without leakage occurring. In such applications, this limit is frequently below 1,000 psi. Often, in an attempt to increase effective sealing between interfaces, the bolts securing the component parts are subjected to high torque loading. In many instances, the loading exceeds the strength of the bolts employed. As a result, the extrusion pressure and, therefore, the throughput rate which may be practically attained is limited by the strength of the assembling bolts and the sealing systems used in such apparatus.